In a small nightclub in Canterlot
Trixie let out a relieved sigh as she finished off the last bit of her apple cider, the slightly tart taste of the beverage still on her tongue. After getting a chance to sit down and rest in the still relatively empty club, the nighttime crowd thankfully still not exactly out and about, her headache was just about gone.
“Alright now, you’ve had your drink. Please, tell me what is wrong,” Time Turner said as he shifted in his cushioned seat, the small space between the back of the booth and the table looking a little tight for him from where Trixie was sitting. She just giggled a little, face slightly blushing as some of the…other properties of the cider kicked in.
“I never noticed how pudgy you are Time Turner. Maybe you shouldn’t have ordered those hay fries after all,” she said, pointing a hoof at the brown stallion’s stomach, grinning the whole time.
“Wha-Bu-I do a lot of run-I’m not that fat am I? No, wait, don’t answer that, not the time to worry about that matter,” he said, although the glance down at his stomach told Trixie that her companion was apparently a little more concerned than he let on.
“Fine, fine,” Trixie said, putting down her mug before setting her head on her hoofs in thought.
“It all started when we were at the Mezza Voce show. Soon after it began I sensed this slight tingle in the air. I asked you about it actually but, well, you didn’t seem to notice it at all. I think that tingle had to have been…” she said before Time Turner hit the table with his hoof, sitting completely straight up with a grin.
“MAGIC! He was using some kind of magic during the show wasn’t he? Well, magic other than the magic needed to play the instruments but that wouldn’t have caused a magic-induced headache or a tingle in the air. No, it had to be something bigger, a spell filling the whole theatre. But why didn’t I…”
“Sorry to interrupt, but you two wouldn’t happen to be talking about the Mezza Voche concert from this afternoon would you?” a new voice added in, the accent sounding posh and definitely from Canterlot.
Time Turner and Trixie turned their heads to see the newcomer. She had a gray-coat, well kempt and cleaned. Her mane was of the same care and management but black in color, stretching down almost all the way to her flank before curling a little. Her violet eyes were looking at them, although from the slight red look and wideness of them she had been drinking. Most relevant to the conversation, however, was the pink treble cleft cutie mark on her flank and the pink bowtie. Trixie had a guess as to who this pony probably was, but found the coincidence hard to believe.
“Yes, we are. And you would be?” Trixie asked, wanting to test her guess. Before the gray-mare could answer, however, Time Turner decided to be a fancolt and started to shake her hoof with glee.
“You’re Octavia! Earth Pony, cellist for the Canterlot Fillyharmonic, a rare combination indeed. Oh you’re an inspiration you are. I’m Time Turner and this is my companion Trixie. Love your work, and the bowtie might I add. Maybe I should start wearing one…”
“Maybe you should stop trying to rip her arm off first,” Trixie said, rolling her eye at Time Turner as he sheepishly let go and apologized as he returned to his seat.
“I-It was no problem at all. I am always glad to make the acquaintance of a fan, especially ones so enthusiastic. Unfortunately you might be the only fan left since Mezza Voce arrived…but you said you felt something odd at the concert?” Octavia questioned.
“Yes, my companion here apparently sensed magic being used but didn’t say what exactly,” Time Turner replied.
“Because I was interrupted,” Trixie grumbled before speaking loud enough for the others to hear, “I’m still not exactly sure exactly what was happening, but it looked like some form of hypnotism from the dazed looks you all had.”
Octavia’s face turned rather sour, a frown appearing as she looked down at the floor.
“That’s what I was worried about. You see, my friend and I had attended the concert as well. My memory of it is rather fuzzy, but she seemed to have a similar experience as yours. Tingle in the air, headache, dazed looks on all the ponies around her. Vinyl, would you be a dear and come over here?”
Octavia’s attention was turned towards the stage, where a mass of wires and speakers were slowly being put together by a white unicorn with an electric blue mane. At the mention of her name, the unicorn looked up from whatever it was she was doing, although her eyes were hidden by a giant pair of violet-lensed shades.
“Huh? Oh yeah, be right over. Just gotta plug in this…”
The rest of her sentence was cut off by a giant screech, causing all the club’s patrons’ ears to flick back, everypony wincing in pain for several seconds as Vinyl searched out the plug to pull out. Silent once more came, and Trixie, Time Turner, and Octavia just looked back at the pile of electronics, Vinyl just smiling back at them.
“Okay, plugged in the wrong thing. No problem though,” she said, dropping some wire onto the mess of wires behind her as she started walking towards the group. As she arrived, she gave the rest of the group a wave before focusing on Octavia.
“So hey, what’s going on Octy? And who are your new friends?” she said.
Octavia simply sighed at the nickname before replying.
“Apparently you were right about Mezza Voce using magic. According to…Trixie was it?” she pointed a hoof at Trixie, who simply nodded in confirmation.
“Trixie says she was able to feel magic being used as well, and her friend acted the same way that…well, you remember,” she finished, apparently slightly ashamed at being affected by hypnotism like she had been. Vinyl’s face, which had been all smiles up to that point, suddenly took on a more angered look.
“I TOLD you something fishy was going on with that guy. These ears don’t lie; I knew the moment he started that music was way off. So then, when do we go and rough him up a bit?” Vinyl said, acting out some boxing to emphasize the point.
“Vinyl! We are not going to resort to physical violence to resolve this problem and…”
Trixie just stopped paying attention as the two of them started discussing about what were the appropriate measures to deal with Mezza Voce, who Vinly was currently describing in ways not meant for polite company. Glancing over at Time Turner, she caught him looking rather hard at Vinyl’s flank. Even he had a bit of a perverted side it seemed.
“Enjoying the show there T.T.?” She said, resorting to a nickname just for the heck of it, inspired by Vinyl’s use of one to annoy her friend. Time Turner snapped back to attention.
“T.T.? Is that the best nickname you have for me? Anyway, I was not ‘enjoying the show’ as you said, but I wanted to see her cutie mark.”
The arguing stopped for a moment as Vinyl looked over at Time Turner, the hint of red eyes peeking over her shades.
“Hey,it’s cool. There’s no shame in admitting you like what you see, right?”
Trixie noticed Vinyl’s eyes shifted over to Octavia for a moment, who was currently burying her face in her hooves in a manner Trixie was very familiar with after her short time with Time Turner. Speaking of the brown-coated stallion, Trixie had to laugh a little as he shifted around in his seat again as he tried to get away from Vinyl. There was even a slight blush breaking through his coat.
“Uh, yes, well, attractiveness of your rear aside, I was trying to figure out why exactly you and Trixie were immune to whatever it was Mezza was doing. I noticed you had a musical note for a cutie mark, but so does Octavia and Trixie doesn’t so musical affinity isn’t necessarily the key. So!”
With that, Time Turner ducked under the table, reappearing outside the booth a second later as he started pacing the floor.
“What I guess is that, like Trixie said, Mezza was using some kind of hypnotism in order to make everypony enjoy his music more. Now, that explains why Trixie could resist; her talent is in illusions and magic so basic hypnotism probably wouldn’t affect her, correct?” he said, stopping and looking at her.
“Yeah, I know some hypnotism but,” Trixie started before being interrupted.
“Exactly, but that doesn’t explain Vinyl’s resistance. She has magic of course, but so did Fancy Pants and Fleur and they were still affected,” Time Turner said as he continued his pacing.
“Did you say Fancy Pants and Fleur?” Octavia interrupted.
“Yes, we joined them at the concert. Is there something important about that?” Time Turner asked, looking intently at Octavia. She shrunk back from the look a little before letting out a, “No, I guess not.” Time Turner didn’t look convinced, but he kept going.
“Right then, so we know it’s not exactly magic that protects you, it’s magic related to whatever he is doing to hypnotize ponies. With that in mind then, I had to see what Vinyl’s cutie mark was, and it’s a musical note! Combine it with what she said about being able to hear that the music was way off mark, it’s obvious her talent relates to music, correct?”
“Buck yeah, I’m Vinyl Scratch! Best DJ in all of Equestria!” Vinyl said with a nod, very proud of her self-proclaimed position.
“Fantastic! Just as I was expecting. So then, what do we have in all; magic, illusions, and music. Put that all together and that means…”
Everyone just looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. When he just kept looking at them all, Trixie realized he wanted them to work it all out. That seemed like something he would do. It was completely impossible for him to give a straight answer wasn’t it? Before she could work it all out, however, Octavia spoke first.
“It means Mezza Voce is using a sound based hypnotism skill, sort of like the Pied Piper of Hooflin in that fairytale,” Octavia said, looking down at the ground and sighing.
“Exactly…and I get the feeling you know a thing or two about why he’s doing it don’t you Octavia?” Time Turner said as his excited tone disappeared. He was now looking at her softly, but there was just a slight hint of a glare as well in his eyes. It was as if he was trying to be friendly and comforting while also being an interrogator.
“Yes, I think I do. In fact, I believe I know exactly who Mezza Voce is…”
-----
In Mezza Voce’s Home
“It is quite the honor to have you grace my home this evening,” Mezza Voce said as he started to pour two glasses of wine.
“Oh, please, no need to flatter me Mr. Voce. After you sent me that record of yours with that invitation, I just had to come,” a female voice said.
“I am glad to hear that. I’m quite nervous about this record. It is my first one after all. It was a bit of a gamble sending it to you first, but I am quite glad to see it worked out rather well,” Mezza Voce replied as he turned to face his guests, the two glasses of wine precariously balanced on his back.
“Please, let me help you with that my dear.”
The two glasses were enveloped in a white, slightly pink tinted glow as they were levitated onto the small table that stood between two couches. Mezza Voce made his way onto on, lying down comfortable as he gazed over the form of his companion, a small grin coming to his face as she continued to talk, praising his “genius talent” and “artistic wonderment”. Everything was going just as he dreamed it would.
“It pleases me to no end to receive such praise from such a lovely mare as yourself. If it is no bother, do you mind if I put on the record? I so love to see the reaction of my fans face to face,” he said, getting up again as he took the record over to the record player.
“No need to ask. In fact I..I was going to ask if you wouldn’t mind giving me a private performance. Just a little one?”
While his face was turned away, Mezza could already sense the look of hope and longing in her eyes as she waited for him to play a song. It brought him back to his younger days, back when he was in the Conservatory. He remembered how he would sneak out at night to her home, sitting just below her window with his cello, using his magic to ensure that only she could hear his songs made just for her. But those days were long gone…but if everything worked out right he would have them again.
“It would be no trouble at all, my dear Fleur.”
-----
“I had suspected it before, when I saw the posters, but knowing that he is using some kind of hypnotism confirms it for me,” Octavia started as she sat down in the booth next to Trixie, Vinyl sitting across with Time Turner.
“You see, when I was in the Celestial Conservatory, there was this unicorn in the year below me that the whole school was talking about. His name was Intermedio, or at least that was what he called himself. He was decent enough musician; not exactly a Beethoofen but competent enough. But he had a particular talent for weaving magic through sound waves. Every note he played could be enchanted with illusions or spells, and each piece had its own special effect to it. A soothing song was the perfect lullaby, a fast piece the perfect dance music. But the best was when he would play an epic piece, using his magic to create illusions that made you feel as if the music was dancing in the air in front of you, consuming all your senses at once. It was quite a wonderful experience to behold.”
Time Turner nodded, a slight smile on his face. Trixie imagined that he would probably want to see that in action, although she was slightly less impressed. Such illusions were standard in her own tricks, although to give the stallion some credit she couldn’t do it with sound waves so hers were probably a little off beat. Also, she had to compensate with fireworks to get the epic feeling. Not that it really mattered to the average pony anyway; a good fireworks show was more than enough to create some awe in most ponies.
“But unfortunately he was expelled from the conservatory his first year there,” Octavia continued, “Apparently, he had been caught sneaking out to visit the daughter of one of the patrons of the school.”
“Well, that seems like quite a harsh punishment for some late night romance,” Time Turner replied. Before Octavia could respond, Trixie interrupted.
“Let me guess; turns out Intermedio was from insignificant little town and daddy didn’t want his daughter falling in love with a no-one?” Trixie said rather dryly. She had heard enough gossip in her time in Canterlot to know such things happened quite often in this town.
“No, that just got him barred from ever leaving campus again and everyone finding out he was really named Violino Strings. Turns out he was from some small town on the outskirts of White Tail Woods and his family made strings for instruments. Respectable enough, but not for a Canterlot aristocrat. No, what got him expelled was his attempt to kidnap the mare’s next stallionfriend.”
“Oh now that is a much more serious offense. But tell me, then, who was this stallion?” Time Turner replied, although Trixie could tell from the look of worry on his face that he probably figured it out already. She also had an idea in her mind whom it was, remembering Octavia’s surprise at the mention of two certain ponies.
“…Fancy Pants,” Octavia replied. Time Turner nodded again, and asked one more question.
“And who was the mare that he had fallen in love with?”
“…Fleur di Lis,” Octavia finished.
Everyone got silent for a moment, taking in all the information. Even Trixie was quiet for a moment. She and Time Turner had just met the two earlier that day, and now it seems they have a connection to the hypnotizing musician. But what was the point then of hypnotizing a crowd into liking your music? How did that do anything about a past love?
“Well, there you two go. Octavia got screwed out of her show because somepony couldn’t take no for an answer. And can you believe that he even has a record deal coming up? Someone please tell me why we can’t go and just pound it out of him?” Vinyl replied, throwing her forelegs up in the air in frustration before coming back down across her chest in a huff of annoyance.
“You already almost sent me to jail once Vinyl and I would prefer to not have that experience again,” Octavia replied.
“Wait a moment, say that again. Not the jail stuff but the part about the record deal,” Time Turner added in, a slight grin coming to his face. Trixie raised an eyebrow, wondering why that was an issue when her own mind started thinking over everything again.
“The dude’s getting a record deal, and they all go on sale tonight. Bet you everywhere we go we’ll hear his music. Maybe I should just go and take my turntable and drop some wubs all over town or in his face or something !””
Trixie ignored Vinyl’s continued pleads to just go beat up Mezza, or Violino, or whatever his name was, and kept thinking. He was a pony that could meld magic into sound waves, create illusions and hypnotize ponies, and had a record deal. Just how did all of that fit together….oh, no, that couldn’t be it, could it?
“Trixie, you’re frowning a little. I take it you’ve worked out what’s going on haven’t you?” Time Turner said, his smile absolutely beaming now. Octavia and Vinyl just looked at the two of them, confused.
“Yeah, I think I know what’s going on, and it’s not good. Not good at all,” Trixie replied. Mezza Voce on his own could make a concert hall of ponies like his music, which alone was pretty skillful. But if he had the entire city playing his songs…
“Yeah, it’s horrifying. Brilliant, but horrifying. If every song he plays has a different effect, and his music is being played all over Canterlot then…let’s go.”
Before even finishing his thought Time Turner had jumped onto the table, onto the floor, and was heading out the door. Trixie did the same, leaving Octavia and Vinyl behind for a moment. It didn’t take long before she could hear the sounds of two more ponies running behind her
“Hey, what is going on?” Octavia yelled.
“I have no idea really, but if this entire city is playing Mezza’s records, then in theory he should be able to amplify his hypnotism powers exponentially and be able to do things well beyond simply making his music sound better,” Time Turner explained as he turned a corner. For her poking fun at him for being pudgy, Trixie found that Time Turner seemed to be in pretty decent shape. He didn’t sound out of breath or anything at all.
“Yeah…and what are we going to do…about it,” Trixie said in between pants.
“No idea yet, but I bet it’ll be absolutely fantastic! Now then, off to meet Mezza Voce in person!” Time Turner exclaimed. It didn’t seem to bother Trixie that they actually didn’t know where he lived; she was just enjoying this too much to care right now. Speaking of someone enjoying it…
“All right! I knew you all would see it my way. Now let’s go and show this dude what’s up Vinyl Scratch style!”